


In The Tea Leaves

by ironhoshi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: And I don't care who knows, Cody has made a mistake, Don't trust instant drinks, Fluff and Humor, Gen, I have some strong feelings about instant coffee, I'm just buzzing from my copious amounts of Deathwish, Large amounts of caf drinking, Mild Embarrassment, Obi-Wan doesn't say a word, Pls ignore the fact I wrote this instead of working on my WIPs, Sir- don't drink that!, That isn't tea, everything is fine over here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironhoshi/pseuds/ironhoshi
Summary: He acquired some new bags from another battalion and had felt overly proud of himself when he presented an exhausted Obi-Wan Kenobi with a steaming hot mug of water and one of those bags after a particularly rough skirmish. Cody, sadly, hadn't noticed the slight moment where the General had tensed after taking a sip of the finished product. He failed to see the way the Jedi's nose scrunched before a mask of politeness fell over that face.---Posted first to tumblr. Now edited and posted here.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 115





	In The Tea Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> I loathe instant coffee. I loathe single-serve instant coffee even more- this imposter teabag is awful. 
> 
> The suggestion was made that Cody has been accidentally serving these horrid things to Obi-Wan unknowingly. What you have below is the result of this. The original posting of this and the backstory can be found [here](https://ironhoshi.tumblr.com/post/642740430355726336/in-the-tea-leaves).

Cody paid attention.

He prided himself on paying attention. He caught all those small details and that was why he was a great Commander. The neverending war made people rush, it made Kenobi rush at times, so Cody paid attention.

The General liked to drink tea, a lot of tea actually, and most of the time out on the front lines said tea came in little cloth bags that were steeped in near-boiling water. Loose tea leaves were something saved for their time on the _Negotiator_. The General didn’t want them ruined accidentally by muddy battlegrounds and as his Commander, Cody agreed. (There was a mild fear of tea getting lost in the mud and the General trying to actually hunt it down.) Cody thought the means to brew real tea was just a little too fiddly to bring to a base camp. Loose tea leaves required far more work, teabags were faster. Perfect for war. A means to get the job done without any hiccups.

Kenobi took great care in making sure his tea was protected, whether it be those delicate teabags or the canisters of loose leaves. Cody often had the unkind thought that the General showed more care for the kriffing tea than he did for himself. The man was notorious for evading medical treatment. There were several points where he seriously debated bribing the man with tea as a means of getting him into medical. Sadly, he couldn't quite bring himself to hold the tea hostage. He did not want to be the reason his General's face fell. No, he just paid attention to what his General drank instead. He would rather be the reason those eyes sparkled with restrained delight and that meant plying Obi-Wan with teabags.

He had noticed that some of the teabags were not as used as the others and when he inquired as to why Kenobi merely mentioned something about a lackluster taste. It seemed not all tea was created equal. That, of course, made perfect sense, not all blasters were made the same, after all. 

Cody spent time pondering the issue. The General looked tired a lot of the time and the urge to take care of him was strong. Maybe he just needed better tea? Yes, that was perfect! (Tea was the safer option since the only way he'd get Obi-Wan to fall asleep for a decent amount of time would be to hit him over the head with the arm of a clanker.)

He acquired some new bags from another battalion and had felt overly proud of himself when he presented an exhausted Obi-Wan Kenobi with a steaming hot mug of water and one of those bags after a particularly rough skirmish. Cody, sadly, hadn't noticed the slight moment where the General had tensed after taking a sip of the finished product. He failed to see the way the Jedi's nose scrunched before a mask of politeness fell over that face. Cody merely thought he had done his General a great service.

He made sure to make his General a cup of tea at least once a week during the campaigns, sometimes more if the General was looking extra close to passing out on his feet. (Which, sadly, happened a lot.) Kenobi always smiled politely and drank the concoction slowly, often leaving his hands wrapped around the hot mug for what felt like hours. Cody figured it was because the man was savoring the taste. The General, after all, was a man of refined tastes, and to have him savor something he picked out? Well, then he had truly gone above and beyond for his General. 

Cody ended up having to trade often for more bags of the tea. The 13th was only too happy to trade away the stuff, something he probably should have paid more attention to, but honestly- It wasn't like many of the vod'e were into tea quite like the Jedi. Though Striker had mentioned his General hated those bags and he refused to let his Little Commander drink any. Which, made perfect sense, he had heard that some species had their growth stunted when they consumed too much tea. The Cadet still had much more growing to do and it seemed Striker was determined not to let anything interfere with that. Cody did, however, decided against sharing that knowledge with his General. Obi-Wan had clearly stopped growing a long time ago so his strange tea-drinking habits were hardly doing any damage now.

The weekly tea-time continued for nearly five months. Five months where he had been unwittingly committing a crime that should be punishable by death. Cody, naturally, learned of his transgressions in the worst way possible- at a party.

Drinks were flowing freely and they were celebrating yet another victory. That atmosphere was jubilant, Jedi and vod’e alike were joyous. General Skywalker was teasing Commander Tano lightly a little bit away from them while General Kenobi watched on. Cody saw the affectionate look. It was obvious that General Kenobi loved his family, even if he didn't always vocalize such a sentiment. It was looks and actions, those are what spoke volumes. The troopers were blessed in the fact that Kenobi also greatly cared for them. The General was simply just a good man. (And if a few of the vod’e had, uh, dreams about him? Well, Cody couldn’t exactly fault them.)

"Sir," Cody said softly while holding out a glass bottle of booze.

"Please, Cody, my dear, no need for honorifics right now." A faint smile and the Jedi accepted the bottle, fingers brushing against his for a mere moment. Warmth flooded up his arm from that small touch. Cody couldn’t help the soft smile that took up residence on his face. He knows what his Jedi likes to drink and takes pride in the fact Kenobi trusts him enough to accept such things from him.

"Careful, Obi-Wan," Anakin suddenly called out, looking up from tormenting his own Padawan. Cody frowned ever so faintly at the brief moment of panic that bubbles up in his General's eyes. He doesn't even have time to question because Skywalker is barreling on with all the kindness of a rancor. "He might be accidentally giving you something else!"

"Skyguy!" Ahsoka for some reason looked scandalized for a brief second. An aborted laugh escaped Rex.

Cody blinked. What was going on?

"Oh, Anakin.” Cody could feel the regret and disappointment dripping off the words his General just uttered. That didn’t bode well. A faint sense of worry started to pool in his stomach while he clutched his own bottle of booze just a little harder. He needed to get to the bottom of this. 

"Sir?"

"You still haven't told him," Anakin managed to say just before Rex yanked him away with an arm around the throat. Cody raised an eyebrow at the clear lack of protocol in that action. The sheepish smile Ahsoka gives him was clearly a bad sign. Before he can question her she is running after General Skywalker and Rex. Any chance of interrogating that lot is gone like tea leaves in mud. Kark.

"...Sir," he tried again, voice only cracking slightly. Worry, _worry_ is definitely starting to eat at his insides. Little doubts and uncertainties. Everyone seems to be in on some joke that he is unaware of and the sensation is quite uncomfortable.

"Cody, have I ever told you about the time you tried to poison me?"

Cody can only stare at his General. Poisoning? That couldn't be possible! His eyes widen in shock while his mind tries to figure out what Kenobi is talking about. The gears are whirring fast, but nothing is coming to the surface. 

"Relax, I am merely talking about the cheap caf you've been giving me." There is a twinkle in his General’s eyes and the man has the nerve to smirk before taking a swig of booze. He watches the way his General swallows, mind focused on the word caf. What caf?

"Caf? I haven't given you any caf-" 

The General hates caf and Cody would never give the man such a drink. Cody, personally, loves the stuff. Caf, while bitter, keeps him awake while he chases after his General. Cody isn’t ashamed to admit he trails after Kenobi a lot, after all, someone has to do so- the General has a shockingly nasty habit of leaving cloaks, robes, and lightsabers behind. Caf is required to make sure Cody doesn’t miss a single one.

"Ah, that is what I was afraid of. Cody, those little bags you've been giving me are by far the worst instant caf I have ever had the delight of consuming."

Cody can only stare with his mouth hanging open. His life flashes before his eyes. Oh, oh no. He has been actively poisoning his General!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to stop by and say hi, I like it when people say hi.
> 
> https://ironhoshi.tumblr.com/


End file.
